HIV drug may replace hydroxychloroquine in Covid defence

India's top health research body is reviewing its treatment guidelines for Covid-19 and may drop hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) from the protocol due to increasing doubt over its effectiveness, people in the know told ET.

New Delhi: India's top health research body is reviewing its treatment guidelines for Covid-19 and may drop hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) from the protocol due to increasing doubt over its effectiveness, people in the know told ET.

In the revised treatment protocol expected to be released soon, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is likely to include HIV combination drugs, and FDA-approved Ivermectin along with supplements of zinc and Vitamin C to improve immunity and possibly reduce viral replication, they said.

It now plans to conduct a trial on HCQ’s effectiveness. “The disease is evolving and now that we know that HCQ is not working, it should be removed from the treatment protocol,” a person familiar with the development told ET. “Rather other drugs which have proved to be efficacious should be added into the new protocol.” As reported by ET on Monday, with some microbiologists opposing the use of HCQ for Covid-19, a debate is raging among members of ICMR’s task force over continuing with the recommendation.

The members of the task force have given their recommendations,” one of the sources said. “There has been sufficient push back from the microbiologists against HCQ within the task force.”

Another person said, “Some microbiologists are of the view that its use could unnecessarily expose patients to health risks. Hence, the guideline to use HCQ may be withdrawn.”

Used to treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, HCQ came into the spotlight when US President Donald Trump talked about its effectiveness on Covid-19 patients. Since then, India has withdrawn an export ban on the drug and shipped HCQ to a lot of countries including the US.

ICMR and the health ministry had recommended HCQ as a prophylactic for asymptomatic healthcare workers caring for suspected or confirmed cases of Covid-19 and for asymptomatic household contacts of confirmed cases.

However, some health experts raised ethical questions over the therapy, which lacked clinical evidence of efficacy in treating Covid-19.

A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Supreme Court last month, alleging that the HCQ and azithromycin combination therapy for Covid-19 patients was likely to pose a serious threat for patients with pre-existing heart conditions, as found by studies in the US and Canada.

To avoid needless medical calamities, the petitioner wanted the court to intervene and ask the government to implement important precautionary therapeutic measures in the treatment guidelines for Covid-19 patients.

Health authorities in Mumbai have been indiscriminately giving out HCQ to adults and children in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19, as ET reported earlier.